06 May 1998
Letter delivered to the President of the United States prior to a
full House Science Committee hearing on the International Space
Station (ISS) The letter urges the Administration to step forward,
establish a relationship with the new Russian cabinet and work with
the U.S.'s international partners to resolve funding and
construction schedule problems in the ISS program.

Dear Mr.
President:

In October of 1993, your
Administration formally invited Russia to become a partner in the
International Space Station program. Including the former Cold War
adversary was viewed by officials as advantageous for technical and
political reasons. It would speed the station's assembly by 15
months and save the U.S. about $2 billion. It would allow the
international partners to tap into the Russians vast experience in
long-duration space flight. And it would facilitate Russia's
transition to a nation focused on conversion of defense industries
to peaceful purposes, privatization and integration into the
international community.

Russia, in return, offered to sign an
agreement to control the export of missile technology and agreed to
cancel a $400 million order for such technology from
India.

When the partnership was announced,
some members of Congress expressed concern about the health of
Russia's economy. The General Accounting Office (GAO) was asked to
review the benefits of Russia's participation in the space station
program. GAO concluded there would be Üno net savings from
Russian participation that could be used to fund other areas of the
program and accelerate the schedule. In fact, it said Russia's
involvement would actually increase funding requirements by $1.4
billion. (This includes spending to upgrade the Space Shuttle and
$746 million for two additional assembly flights.)

The International Space Station, as
currently designed with Russian participation, has twice the
electrical power as Space Station Freedom -- a critical advantage
for the operation of furnaces and other hardware. There are twice
as many laboratory modules, and the crew has been expanded from
three to seven, enhancing research capabilities.

Bringing Russia into the program
clearly has increased our expectations in terms of the design,
assembly, and operation of the International Space Station. We also
have gained important knowledge from the study of astronaut health,
safety and performance during U.S. shuttle missions to the Mir
space station.

From a foreign policy perspective,
our relationship with Russia has been strengthened as a result of
its participation in the space station program. Making the
transition to a democracy has been a rough road for Russia. It
continues to experience many economic difficulties. The ISS
partners collectively are building important science and business
relationships, which will continue to bring our nations closer
together.

One area of disappointment in the ISS
agreement is Russia's inability to provide funding to meet
scheduled deadlines for the production of critical hardware. Russia
originally vowed to supply the Service Module, FGB, Solar Dynamic
Power Dishes, solar arrays, Crew Return Vehicle, and resupply
vehicles. The first element of the station was supposed to be
launched in late 1997. Because Russia failed to complete the
Service Module as scheduled, the station's assembly had to be
postponed. Funding from the Russian government continues to be
inadequate, throwing into doubt the completion of other
components.

NASA is now scrambling to find
additional resources to keep the ISS program afloat. Last year, the
space agency announced cost overruns would reach $430 million in FY
1998. Congress agreed to provide $100 million in new funding and
$130 million in transfer authority, leaving a shortfall of $200
million. The total amount may have been forthcoming, but your
Administration never sent a formal request to Congress. Members on
Capitol Hill viewed this silence as a reflection of your
Administration's lack of support for Americaäs space
program.

In each of the past seven years, you
have proposed a reduction in funding for NASA. In your FY 1999
budget request, you propose increased spending for science and
technology for the first time in years. The National Science
Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department
of Energy all get a boost. But, while these programs would receive
more resources, NASA's budget is cut by another $173 million. When
accounting for inflation, the rollback totals $445
million.

Congress recently authorized the
transfer of an additional $63 million to the space station in FY
1998. The National Space Society opposes simply making available
more money without first determining specific solutions to Russia's
problems. The time has come to reexamine the production
capabilities of Russia and to rework its commitments.

America and its international
partners cannot afford further delays in the ISS program while
hoping somehow Russia will be able to meet its responsibilities.
Taking action does not necessarily mean Russia would no longer be a
partner, but rather its contributions, and the manner in which to
negotiate those contributions, would be renegotiated commensurate
with Russia's capabilities.

Your Administration won credit for
bringing Russia into the ISS partnership. It is now incumbent upon
the White House to step forward and provide the necessary
leadership to deal with Russian delays and to put the space station
program back on a firm schedule. NASA scientists and engineers are
not the people to do this; only the Administration has the
international diplomatic resources that can and must be brought to
bear on the situation. Postponing the inevitable will increase
costs to Americaäs taxpayers, weaken our nation's space
program, and sully our relationships with the international
partners.

We believe Congress is ready and
willing to provide additional funding if necessary to complete
construction of the space station. But first, the White House must
step forward, establish a relationship with the new Russian cabinet
and work with our international partners to resolve problems in the
ISS program.

Mr. President, on behalf of the NSS
membership, I urge your immediate attention to this issue and
pledge the resources of our society to get the International Space
Station program back on track. Best wishes.

Sincerely,

Pat Dasch
Executive Director
The National Space Society

cc:
The Honorable James Sensenbrenner
The Honorable George Brown, Jr.
The Honorable Dana Rohrabacher
The Honorable Jerry Lewis
The Honorable Louis Stokes

The Honorable John McCain
The Honorable Ernest Hollings
The Honorable Bill Frist
The Honorable Kit Bond
The Honorable Barbara Mikulski